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MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said today that 44,056 people have been killed, and 104,268 others have been wounded, in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli military response to the October 7, 2023, attacks. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1002 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• In a televised address yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that his country’s forces fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine earlier in the day. Putin claimed that the Oreshnik missile flies at ten-times the speed of sound, making it invulnerable to interception, and said its use was a direct response to the U.S. and the U.K. jointly approving Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range missiles to target Russia. [more]

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION | Former Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration to be appointed Attorney General in the upcoming Trump administration yesterday amidst ongoing scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations. Following Gaetz’ withdrawal, President-elect Trump named former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his new pick for the role. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | According to reports, Senate Democrats have reached a procedural deal with chamber Republicans that would allow more rapid consideration of numerous pending judicial confirmations before the end of the year in exchange for not holding votes on four Biden administration nominees to U.S. appellate courts. Judicial analysts note that the delay on considering nominees for the four appellate court seats means that the upcoming Trump administration will be able to provide its own nominees for those roles. [more]

ARKANSAS | Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said yesterday that Arkansas is expected to end the upcoming fiscal year with a nearly $300 million surplus and proposed that half of the coming year’s $182.5 million state budget increase be used toward a school voucher program. [more]

U.S. NONPROFITS | Amidst criticism by civil liberties groups, the U.S. House passed a measure yesterday that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it claims support terrorism. Opponents say the measure, the fate of which is uncertain in the Senate, could be used to suppress or punish political voices and note that current U.S. law already makes supporting designated terrorist groups illegal. [more]

CALIFORNIA AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST | Meteorologists say areas of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest are at risk of flash floods and mudslides as the region continues to deal with heavy rain, snow, and flooding from an atmospheric river storm system that is expected to last through the weekend. At least two deaths have been linked to this week’s storms and reports say hundreds of thousands of homes in the affected areas remain without power. [more]

RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA | South Korean national security officials say that Russia has provided North Korea with air defense missiles in exchange for the estimated 10,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia recently to support operations against Ukraine. [more]

CANADA | Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, and ahead of the country’s pending elections, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ‘s government announced plans yesterday to temporarily lift the federal sales tax from a number of common and popular goods and to send checks for 250 Canadian dollars to millions of Canadians dealing with rising costs. [more]

COP29 | As the COP29 U.N climate summit winds down today in Baku, Azerbaijan, the summit presidency released a draft finance proposal that would see developed nations provide $250 billion per year by 2035 to help poorer nations deal with climate-related damages and risks. The proposal also calls for some $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035, which would include funding from all public and private sources. [more]

BRAZIL | Federal prosecutors in Brazil indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others yesterday on charges related to an alleged coup attempt aimed at keeping Bolsonaro in power following his 2022 electoral defeat. [more]

LAOS | Reports say a number of people have been taken into custody, but have not yet been charged, in connection with the deaths of six tourists in the Laotian city of Vang Vieng who died after drinking what is thought to have been methanol-laced alcoholic drinks. [more]

SOUTH SUDAN | Reuters cites a U.N safety alert sent to staff members in Juba, South Sudan, as saying that heavy gunfire broke out in the city last night as security forces moved to arrest the Central African country’s former head of intelligence services. [more]

BASEBALL | The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge were named this season’s Most Valuable Players yesterday for MLB’s National and American Leagues, respectively. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, while riding in an open car. [more history]